A shadow of a dream
by Mahinahaze
Summary: Begins where FFX takes off- Tidus is sent to the farplane, but is miserable there. He has a chance to return to spira and unite with everyone, including Yuna again, but on one condition. No one will remember him or recognize him. Can he still be with Yuna
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
He slowly drifted without direction, without desire. He vaguely remembered the dying orange of the clouds and the screeches of the sent, but not clear enough to discern when or why they happened. This sea was not a happy place, nor was it in any way full of sorrow. It was oblivion; a bit depressing, but gently comforting somehow. It was as though he had forgotten how to feel, how to piece together words and pictures into one discernable thought. His memories, his mind, his very soul seemed to be drifting away into dreary, placid nothingness.  
  
It was slow at first. There was no current or force to carry him above or below. But suddenly, he felt what might have been a gentle push. It didn't change his depth, but rather hinted that he should swim up. He didn't take this hint; he hardly knew what to make of anything anymore. Then a few moments later, there was another push, this time forcing him to rise a few feet closer to the surface of the pitch black, yet somehow warm sea. He began to see light. The surface shimmered with an unearthly glow, like when moonlight is filtered through the leaves of a tree. Moonlight amongst the trees...had he ever seen moonlight or trees? He felt almost sure he had...but where...  
  
The current began to tap at his back again, ushering his ever closer to a surface that was growing increasingly luminous...  
  
Somewhere in the forest, amongst the waters of a cool spring, filled with memory...his memories...  
  
Another push...  
  
Were they only his memories? His thoughts? It couldn't have just been him; someone else shared this memory...who was he? Or...she?  
  
Another push, with greater force....  
  
She?  
  
A few meters away from the surface...  
  
She...  
  
And suddenly, he went from no recollection of thought or emotion to a million memories, feelings, and realizations. Everything rushed into his unprepared mind in a blurry instant. He needed to breathe! He had to get to the surface! Bursting for air, he wildly groped for the surface, and-  
  
SPLASH!  
  
A rush of warm air hit his face, and he began to gasp for air, as though he had never experienced this before; as though he had been deprived of sweet oxygen for his entire life. Still gasping, he slowly opened his eyes; his vision was still blurred by the new light burning in his eyes.  
  
"Calm down."  
  
This voice was familiar. He allowed his eyes to adjust, and the looked ahead to see whom the voice belonged to.  
  
"It's all right, you really don't need it."  
  
He gazed dumbfounded at the ghostly figure in front of him, gently rising and falling, glowing and fading. Auron?  
  
"W-what do you mean?"  
  
"You don't need to breathe. It...doesn't matter anymore."  
  
He couldn't believe it. It couldn't be. Please don't let it be, he thought frantically. His eyes felt hot with tears of disbelief. I won't let it be. I'm so young, and I'm still so alive...  
  
Auron chuckled with amusement. This was nothing new; he was always reasonable and had an explanation for everything.  
  
"You're dead. It feels rather strange, doesn't it? Heh...I suppose after ten years or so, I've gotten used to this...but still...this place is new to me. "  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"well, there's nowhere else for us to go now," Auron murmured. "We're in the farplane." 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Tidus knew it all along; it was simply a matter of coming to terms with it. The Farplane. The land of the dead. No, not the dead...the land of the sent. This sounded so much nicer somehow. It wasn't such a chilling way to say it. It made the Farplane seem like a calm and peaceful place...  
  
"So this is the farplane..." Tidus said wistfully. His electric blue eyes lit up, and his heart began to feel a little lighter now; his mind was beginning to adjust to this new atmosphere. It never took Tidus long to adjust to a new situation anymore. After his last major inter-dimensional move to Spira, these kinds of things just didn't scare him anymore. Tidus looked around at his new surroundings, or at least tried to. But there didn't seem to be much in the way of surroundings to look at. Everything was blank empty space save the ghost....no...the pyreflys that made up the image of Auron.  
  
Tidus, who never hesitated to blurt his thoughts out aloud, shouted "WHERE IS EVERYTHING?" He spun around, looking in all directions, searching for something that might catch his eye. "HELLOOOOOO?!" he paused for a moment.  
  
"What's up with this place, auron? We can't be the only dead guys here."  
  
"Ssh. Listen for a minute."  
  
"Listen for what?"  
  
"How would I know? But I think I hear something..."  
  
For once in his existence, Tidus remained quiet for a minute. He heard nothing.  
  
"I think you're crazy, Auron."  
  
"Be Silent! Would you just be patient?"  
  
"Ugh!" Geez, what a killjoy Auron could be. Had he not seen the spheres from Braska's pilgrimage, he would never have been able to imagine that Auron was ever young. It was still a difficult concept to grasp sometimes. But Tidus decided he had nothing better to do, so he might as well listen to this imaginary noise. But as he listened, as the silence lingered, he almost heard something in the distance...yes, he knew it was there. He didn't just know it...he felt it too...His eyelids began to lazily sink down, as the sound was becoming something truly audible. It was a soft, yet high-pitched moan; eerie and song-like. But it wasn't at all frightening. It was almost soothing in it's mysterious cry. Pyreflys. They were becoming quite loud, and soon after, visible. Their brilliant, rainbow sheen began to surround him, and shapes were forming in the distance. Individual blades of grass began to form into a tangible ground, and flowers of every color imaginable and not imaginable began to sprout from the earth, emitting heavenly perfumes; their transparent petals kissed Tidus's feet. The sky began to change from white to yellow to orange to red to purple, until all these colours mixed together into the sky to become a sunset more stunningly beautiful than anything mortals could even begin to picture. Endless rivers began to flow through the valley of flowers, as the crystal waters poured over massive cliffs growing from the earth all around. Tidus stood in an infinite valley surrounded by peaks on mountains, and was struck with awe, unable to speak, so enchanting everything was. Golden vines crawled up the mountains, inviting the inhabitants of this mystical plane to climb them to the tops of the peaks, where they could forget all the pains of memories that life had left them to bear in their minds. It was an endless land of eternal happiness and bounty, and if any human could stand inside it, not just look in from the outside, but truly live within it, they could be fulfilled completely and never feel sorrow again, just because they experienced the divine grace of this moment.  
  
And yet...Tidus felt something was missing. Everyone and everything in this place was truly happy, without regret or pain. The pyreflies began to take on shapes of people, drifting aimlessly, preserved in that perfect moment when you first enter this sacred land.  
  
Tidus began to look around for his father. He should be here now. He'd better be, after all that had just happened. But he didn't have to look. As someone had once told him before, all he had to do was think about the person you want to see, and they'll appear...whoever said that, they were right. The shape of Jecht made itself visible before Tidus's eyes, and the details of his features began to appear an instant after. His face and body were dark with tan, and his features were aged and grizzled. As always, He was bare-chested, revealing his strange scar that covered his entire upper torso. He was wearing his ever-present blitzball pants on the lower part of his body.  
  
"Hey, kid." Jecht spoke shyly; he had never spoken to his son face to face for...wow, it had been so long...it must have been at least 10 years.  
  
"You're talkative, considering what I just did for you." Tidus was going to enjoy this moment. "How about some thanks? A little appreciation? It would sure be more than you've ever given me before. "  
  
Tidus instantly felt remorse for his words; he had already made amends with his father before everything had all come to an end... but he still had a little anger left over from past years. Even so, it really was time to let it go.  
  
"...Thanks." Jecht muttered. He was so terrible at giving praise, and painstakingly, he replied. "I guess I really didn't deserve this help from you...but you don't know what a relief it was...and...uhm...well...." He paused. "Thanks, kid. Being Sin was really...a bummer, ya know?"  
  
Tidus had to laugh at this last statement. Only his Dad could describe the pain of being Sin as simply as "A bummer". Tidus smiled.  
  
"Well, at least you don't have to suffer anymore." He paused. "I guess now, nobody really has to suffer anymore, do they?"  
  
"What about Yuna?" Auron interjected.  
  
Yuna. Finally, Tidus realized what was missing. It hit him hard, like a punch to the stomach. Why had this memory not come up sooner? He gulped, trying to think of something impressive and brave to say, trying not to think about how far apart they really were now...  
  
"She's...strong. She'll be alright."  
  
Jecht laughed uproariously, and even slapped Tidus on the back. "Are you kidding?! Come on, I saw you on your way from Besaid all the way to the battle with sin! I know you care about her more than just a "She's strong, she'll be alright."" He grinned deviously.  
  
"You've been watching?!"  
  
"You think sin can have to power destroy a whole continent and not the power to do a little...erm...observational study on the side?"  
  
"You were stalking us?!"  
  
"Stalking is such an unpleasant term, isn't it?" Auron laughed gently. "He just wanted to watch his son grow up."  
  
"Ha! He's still pretty scrawny, though, ain't he?" Jecht ruffled up tidus's soft and naturally spiky, golden hair with his gruff, strong hands. Tidus groaned with embarrassment. He could never admit how much was even now grieving for her kind voice, her stunning eyes, and the softness of her smile. It was so ironic, wasn't it? In the beginning, he had cared about nothing but finding a way to save her life from the certain death of a summoner, yet in the end, he was the one who passed away. Either way, they were separated, and now, little else mattered. In this Farplane, this world that never changed, Tidus knew he could never move on. Everyone else was filled with joy, but to Tidus, this would always be a lonely place full of empty regret. He would be the only one who was not mindless with bliss. He would truly be alone forever without Yuna by his side. Even if she died, would she accept her death? What if she didn't? How would she reach the farplane? The summoners would never be needed now, and sendings would cease to occur. There would be no more sendings. There would be no more comfort for the grieving dead.  
  
He had to see her again. He would never be complete otherwise.  
  
Suddenly, the fairy tale illusion of the farplane began to rapidly disappear, even from beneath his feet. The pyreflies faded into distant shadow, and blackness began to consume Tidus and everything around him.  
  
Then something, or rather, someone, began to emerge from the blackness. Tidus knew who it was before the image even finished coming into focus. He recognized the feeling of the Fayth a mile away. After all, it was part of him, was it not? The image of a small, tan boy appeared, with a royal purple shirt who's hood covered the child's eyes. If you looked at his back, you would see an unusuall marking that bore a strange resemblance to something Tidus has seen before on an aeon. The Fayth's youthful, yet wise voice began to speak.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"H-hey."  
  
"I...we really can't thank you enough for what you've done. It was very selfless of you. You're a man of honor; you should be proud."  
  
Tidus was silent.  
  
The Fayth grinned. "but that really doesn't matter at all to you, does it? You couldn't care less about honor. And all the happiness in the farplane couldn't fulfill you, could it?"  
  
"It's a wonderful place...but..."  
  
"I understand." The Fayth said sympathetically. "Well...I suppose I wouldn't understand, but... I see you aren't pleased. I've never been...attached to anyone for a long time. I've forgotten what it's like."  
  
Tidus sighed. He knew how ungrateful he sounded.  
  
"It's alright. You may never realize just how much you've done for us. Now we all want to do something for you, too. You see, the Fayth has the capability to bring people back to Spira from this place. But we only save it for very special occasions such as this."  
  
"but...I....T-There's got to be a catch." Tidus stuttered in disbelief.  
  
"I'm...sorry to say this, but...there is." Said the Fayth with remorse. "You see, when you go back...well, it'll be no problem getting you there...it's just that...it'll be like when you first came last time. To Spira, you'll be a completely new face. It's similar to being born again. No one will have met you; no one will recognize your face."  
  
Tidus's throat became dry. He would still be alone, even if he did find everyone he knew before. He would be a stranger to everyone he had befriended...Wakka, Kimahri, Lulu, Rikku, and even...  
  
"Even Yuna?"  
  
the Fayth hesitated, and then murmured reluctantly. "Even Yuna." After a moment, he muttered an almost silent "...I'm sorry. Do you...still want to be brought back? I know may be painful, but..."  
  
Tidus, faking optimism, shouted "Sure! Hey, I can just get re-acquainted with everyone again, right? Who knows, maybe they'll remember after a while!" This was followed by a nervous laugh.  
  
"I...seriously doubt that. Those memories of you will be buried so far back into their subconsciouses that they will probably never be able to recollect them again. But I do hope for your sake, and maybe even for Yuna's, that you will meet everyone in Spira you knew before and not have to lose them."  
  
Tidus nodded. He knew that they would never really remember. But he had to see everyone again. It would be far better than this lonely place, at any rate. It just had to be.  
  
"Alright, then. Whenever you're ready to send me back."  
  
"Very well. Now close your eyes, and breathe deeply...let your mind drift far, far away, to the place you remember the fondest..." 


End file.
